Tubular shaped sleeve garment

ABSTRACT

A garment worn on the arm of an individual made of a tubular shaped sleeve having a first end opening and a second end opening end opposite said first end, wherein said tubular shaped sleeve is made of an elastic material including spandex such that the sleeve snuggly fits the arm of the individual.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No.61/490,475 filed May 26, 2011, which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a tubular shaped garment for use on anindividual's arm. More particularly, the invention sleeve garmentincludes a detachable cuff.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Arm warmers are known to exist. The invention however, is not an armwarmer but a unique sleeve garment with interchangeable or fixed cuffsthat addresses the issue of mature arms with a novel solution. Thegarment adds additional dimensions to an existing wardrobe and is notexclusive to the mature woman.

In general women of all ages desire to be fashionable, however as womenget older their choices become somewhat limited due in part to agingarms. Call them what you will: flabby, dimpling, cottage cheese jigglingeffects all women at some point.

The invention provides a garment that enables a woman to feel sexy andprovocative and celebrates the “aging” arms by permitting the user thefreedom to wear all the clothes which may have been marked as being offlimits.

The invention garment is a great wardrobe extender and is not mutuallyexclusive only to the mature woman. The garment is also intended toappeal to youth as a novel fashion garment.

An advantage of wearing the invention garment is to extend a woman'swardrobe as well as being a fashionable way to cover up the parts of thearm that begin to show aging, skin conditions, tattoos or anyundesirable conditions.

Another benefit of the invention is to provide younger generations anindividual means of expressing their personal style and the endlessselection of fabric, print and structured accessories creates a synergyfor unlimited expression.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention, these purposes, as well as others which willbe apparent, are achieved generally by a sleeve garment worn on the armof an individual comprised of a tubular shaped sleeve having a first endopening and a second end opening end opposite the first end. The tubularshaped sleeve is made of an elastic material including spandex such thatthe sleeve snuggly fits the arm of the individual.

In alternative embodiments the garment includes a cuff at the wristand/or a cuff at the shoulder/upper arm area, which may be detachable.The garment is also intended to be can a reversible structure, whichpermits multiple uses and different looks.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent when the detailed description of the preferred embodiments ofthe invention are considered with reference to the drawings, whichshould be construed in an illustrative and not limiting sense.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A to 1C illustrate the main components of the invention; FIG. 1Ashows the invention garment on the users arm in a bent position; FIG. 1Billustrates the invention garment on the users arm in an extendedposition; and FIG. 1C illustrates the plastic insert that may be used inthe upper arm area of the garment;

FIG. 2 illustrates the embodiment that includes a detachable cuff; and

FIG. 3 illustrates that embodiment that includes an attachment means onthe invention garment to attach to a user's bra.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention and as illustrated in FIG. 1 asleeve garment worn on the arm of an individual is provided comprised ofa tubular shaped sleeve 1 having a first end opening 2 and a second endopening 3 end opposite said first end is provided.

The tubular shaped sleeve is made of a material including spandex suchthat said sleeve snuggly fits the arm of the individual and does not sagor drupe.

The first end opening 1 is of a diameter wide enough to fit theindividual's upper arm up to and underneath the users armpit.

The second end opening 3 is of a diameter to fit the individual's wrist.The material is such that it expands to fit different size arms but thenconstricts around the individuals arms to fit securely and comfortably.

As shown in FIG. 1C, the garment may further include a flexible plasticinsert to retain the individual's shoulder shape and to maintainattachment to the individual's upper arm.

To further support the structure of the upper arm near the shoulder, athin polymer flexible insert is placed in the upper portion of thesleeve. The thickness of this material can vary dependant on the type ofmaterial being supported and can vary from 0.015 to 0.125 thousandths ofan inch.

The term polymer herein is used to describe any plastic material whichis used in the present invention it may include but is not limited topolyethylene, polyproplylene, etc.

The thickness of the plastic insert is very thin and averages up to an ⅛of an inch thick, which would be the thickest application. Preferablythe insert is as thin as possible to support the materials and so thatit is not only comfortable to the user it is also not seen.

In an alternate embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the garment furtherincludes a cuff 5 extending from the second end opening 3.

The cuff can be permanently attached or detachable.

In embodiments where the cuff is attached, it is preferably too thesecond end opening by Velcro, Velcro like material, snaps, hook andeyes, buttons, loops, magnets, an elastic band insert allowing cuff toadjust to any wrist size or a combination hereof. In alternateembodiments, the cuff may also be attached to the first end opening nearthe shoulder upper arm area by the same materials.

The garment is made from material selected from the group consisting ofnylon, cotton, polyester or synthetic materials. Spandex or elastane isincluded in all embodiments and is a synthetic fiber having exceptionalelasticity. It is a polyurethane-polyurea copolymer. The invention isnot limited to these materials and other strong durable elasticmaterials may be used to make the invention, including natural latex.

In alternate embodiments, to further secure the garment on the user,rubber or vinyl strips on the inner surface of the first end openingaround the armpit and/or the inner surface of the second end opening maybe included.

FIG. 3 illustrates the embodiment where the garment can be fixed to theuser's bra. As shown, the garment may further comprise an attachmentmeans 6 to attach the garment to the individuals' bra. Preferably a snapis present on the upper portion of the sleeve which attaches to a snapon bra strap. Alternatively, a loop is attached to top of the sleeve andloops around the bra strap of the user and snaps back upon itself.

The invention garment sleeve, with or without detachable cuffs, measuresfrom wrist to upper arm, approximately 18-23 inches. The garment is madeto be worn to just under the arm pit of the individual.

In preferred embodiments, the cuffs 5 are detachable, although in analternate embodiment the invention sleeves have permanently affixedcuffs. The interchangeable cuffs provide the user the ability to changetheir “look” in a matter of seconds changing from office attire toevening attire.

The sleeve garment is preferably constructed by knitted, nylon, or cut &sew technique. The knit or fabric has spandex so the sleeve will holdits shape and stay up on the arm. Rubber or vinyl strips may be placedon the inner, upper part of the sleeve to help hold it in place.

Cuffs are either affixed by Velcro like-material, snaps, hook & eyes orbutton/loops, magnets or will slip over the sleeve.

Various production methods can be used to create the invention garments.Knitting machines and cut & sew techniques can be employed.

The foregoing description of various and preferred embodiments of thepresent invention has been provided for purposes of illustration only,and it is understood that numerous modifications, variations andalterations may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe invention as set forth in the following claims.

1. A sleeve garment worn on the arm of an individual comprised of atubular shaped sleeve having a first end opening and a second endopening end opposite said first end, wherein said tubular shaped sleeveis made of an elastic material including spandex such that said sleevesnuggly fits the arm of the individual.
 2. The garment according toclaim 1, wherein said first end opening is of a diameter wide enough tofit the individual's armpit.
 3. The garment according to claim 1,wherein said second end opening is of a diameter to fit the individual'swrist.
 4. The garment according to claim 1, further comprising a cuffextending from said second end opening.
 5. The garment according toclaim 1, further comprising a cuff extending from said first opening. 6.The garment according to claim 4, wherein said cuff is detachable. 7.The garment according to claim 5, wherein said cuff is detachable. 8.The garment according to claim 4, said cuff is attached to said secondend opening by Velcro, Velcro like material, snaps, hook and eyes,buttons, loops, magnets or a combination hereof.
 9. The garmentaccording to claim 5, said cuff is attached to said second end openingby Velcro, Velcro like material, snaps, hook and eyes, buttons, loops,magnets, an elastic band or a combination hereof.
 10. The garmentaccording to claim 1 further comprising a cuff extending from said firstopening and said second opening.
 11. The garment according to claim 1,wherein said material is selected from the group consisting of nylon,cotton, polyester or synthetic materials.
 12. The garment according toclaim 1, further comprising rubber or vinyl strips on the inner surfaceof said first end opening and/or said inner surface of said second endopening.
 13. The garment according to claim 1, further comprising anattachment means to attach said garment to the individuals' bra.
 14. Thegarment according to claim 1, further comprising a flexible plasticinsert to retain the individual's shoulder shape and to maintainattachment to the individual's upper arm.
 15. The garment according toclaim 1, wherein the tubular shaped sleeve is 12 to 23 inches long.